Bonding apparatus and bonding method

ABSTRACT

A bonding apparatus, which includes: an intermediate stage; a transfer unit configured to transfer a semiconductor chip and to place the semiconductor chip on the intermediate stage; and a first bonding unit and a second bonding unit each configured to pick up the semiconductor chip from the intermediate stage, and to bond the semiconductor chip to a circuit substrate. The intermediate stage moves between a first position and a second position. The first position is a position at which the first bonding unit is allowed to pick up the semiconductor chip, and the second position is a position at which the second bonding unit is allowed to pick up the semiconductor chip. With this, it is possible to provide a bonding apparatus capable of reducing processing time per circuit substrate and suppressing an increase of a space, as well as such a bonding method.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of PCT International Application No.PCT/JP2014/075922, filed on Sep. 29, 2014, which claims priority under35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to Patent Application No. 2014-037161, filed in Japanon Feb. 27, 2014, all of that are hereby expressly incorporated byreference into the present application.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Several aspects of the present invention relates to a bonding apparatusand a bonding method.

BACKGROUND ART

Conventionally, there is known a bonding apparatus of this typeincluding: an intermediate stage on which an electronic component isplaced; a transfer unit that picks up an electronic component from anelectronic component feeding stage and transfers the electroniccomponent to the intermediate stage; and a bonding unit that holds theelectronic component transferred onto the intermediate stage andperforms bonding of the electronic component to a circuit substrate on apositioning stage (cf., PTL 1).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

PTL 1: Japanese Patent No. 4946989

Incidentally, it is conceivable that bonding is performed concurrentlyto a plurality of circuit substrates by providing the bonding apparatusas in PTL 1 with a plurality of sets including an intermediate stage, atransfer unit, and a bonding unit.

However, with such a bonding apparatus, as compared to the case in whichonly one set of an intermediate stage, a transfer unit, and a bondingunit is provided, while processing time per circuit substrate isreduced, a space for the bonding apparatus is considerably increased.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

Several aspects of the present invention is made in view of the aboveproblem, and the present invention provides a bonding apparatus capableof reducing processing time per circuit substrate and suppressing anincrease of a space, as well as such a bonding method.

Solution to Problem

A bonding apparatus according to one aspect of the present inventionincludes: an intermediate stage; a transfer unit configured to transfera semiconductor chip and to place the semiconductor chip on theintermediate stage; and a first bonding unit and a second bonding uniteach configured to pick up the semiconductor chip from the intermediatestage, and to bond the semiconductor chip to a circuit substrate,wherein the intermediate stage moves between a first position and asecond position, the first position being a position at which the firstbonding unit is allowed to pick up the semiconductor chip, the secondposition being a position at which the second bonding unit is allowed topick up the semiconductor chip.

In the bonding apparatus described above, it is preferable that one ofthe first position and the second position is a position at which thetransfer unit is allowed to place the semiconductor chip on theintermediate stage.

In the bonding apparatus described above, it is preferable that thefirst bonding unit and the second bonding unit are arranged side by sidein a first direction, and the intermediate stage moves along the firstdirection.

In the bonding apparatus described above, it is preferable that theintermediate stage is disposed between the transfer unit and the firstand the second bonding unit.

It is also preferable that the bonding apparatus described above furtherincludes: a camera for chip configured to take an image of thesemiconductor chip.

A bonding method according to one aspect of the present inventionincludes: a transfer step of transferring a semiconductor chip andplacing the semiconductor chip on an intermediate stage; and a bondingstep of causing a first bonding unit and a second bonding unit to pickup the semiconductor chip from the intermediate stage and to performbonding of the semiconductor chip to a circuit substrate; and a movingstep of moving the intermediate stage between a first position and asecond position, the first position being a position at which the firstbonding unit is allowed to pick up the semiconductor chip, the secondposition being a position at which the second bonding unit is allowed topick up the semiconductor chip.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, by providing the first bonding unitand the second bonding unit that pick up the semiconductor chip from theintermediate stage and bond the semiconductor chip to the circuitsubstrate, it is possible to allow the first bonding unit and the secondbonding unit to concurrently perform bonding to different circuitsubstrates, respectively. Therefore, as compared to a case in which onlyone bonding unit is provided, it is possible to reduce processing timeper circuit substrate. Further, by moving the intermediate stage betweenthe first position at which the first bonding unit is allowed to pick upthe semiconductor chip and the second position at which the secondbonding unit is allowed to pick up the semiconductor chip, theintermediate stage is able to pass (feed) the semiconductor chip placedby the transfer unit to both the first bonding unit and the secondbonding unit. Therefore, it is not necessary, unlike the first and thesecond bonding unit, to provide two transfer units and two intermediatestages, and only one transfer unit and only one intermediate stage aresufficient. Thus, it is possible to suppress an increase of a space fora transfer unit and an intermediate stage, to reduce a number of thecomponents for the bonding apparatus, and thus to reduce manufacturingcosts.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view for illustration of one example of abonding apparatus according to this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view for illustration of a wafer holder unitand a transfer unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view for illustration of the transfer unitand an intermediate stage unit.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view for illustration of the intermediatestage unit and a first bonding unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing one example of a bonding method accordingto this embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustration of one example of processing timein the bonding method according to this embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

Hereinafter an embodiment of the present invention will be described. Inthe following description of the drawings, like or identical componentsare denoted by like or identical reference numerals. However, thedrawings are schematic. Therefore, specifics such as dimensions shouldbe determined in the light of the following description. It should alsobe understood that the drawings include sections having differentrelations and proportions of dimensions between the drawings. Further,the technical scope of the invention of the present application shouldnot be interpreted as being limited to this embodiment. Note that, inthe following description, an upper side, a lower side, a left side, anda right side in the drawings are respectively referred to as “upperside”, “lower side”, “left”, and “right”. Further, in the drawings, adirection along and parallel to an X axis is referred to as an X-axisdirection, a direction along and parallel to a Y axis is referred to asa Y-axis direction, and a direction along and parallel to a Z axis isreferred to as a Z-axis direction.

FIG. 1 to FIG. 6 are diagrams for illustration of one embodiment of abonding apparatus and a bonding method according to the presentinvention. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view for illustration of oneexample of the bonding apparatus according to this embodiment. A bondingapparatus 1 according to this embodiment is an apparatus used to performbonding.

Referring to FIG. 1, the bonding apparatus 1 includes: a wafer holderunit 20, a transfer unit 30, an intermediate stage unit 40, a firstbonding unit 50A, a second bonding unit 50B, a substrate carrying unit60, and a controller 80.

The wafer holder unit 20 is for holding a semiconductor wafer 10. Thewafer holder unit 20 is configured to hold the semiconductor wafer 10divided into a plurality of semiconductor chips 11 onto a wafer stage 21by such a method as vacuum-suctioning.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view for illustration of the wafer holderunit and the transfer unit. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a plunge-up unit22 is provided within the wafer stage 21. The plunge-up unit 22 isconfigured to plunge up one of the plurality of semiconductor chips 11of the semiconductor wafer 10 upwardly (in t the e Z-axis direction) soas to make a difference in levels between this chip and the remainingsemiconductor chips 11. Further, a rotational drive mechanism 23 isprovided under the wafer stage 21. The rotational drive mechanism 23 isconfigured to make the wafer stage 21 rotate about the Z-axis direction.

The transfer unit 30 illustrated in FIG. 1 is for transferring thesemiconductor chip 11 and placing the semiconductor chip 11 on anintermediate stage 41 that will be later described. The transfer unit 30includes a Y-drive mechanism 31 and a transfer head 32.

The Y-drive mechanism 31 includes drive means such as a linear motor,and is capable of moving the transfer head 32 in the Y-axis direction.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, a transfer tool 33 is attached to the transferhead 32. In addition, within the transfer head 32, there is provided adrive mechanism 34 capable of moving the transfer tool 33 in the X-axisdirection and in the Z-axis direction.

The transfer tool 33 is configured to pick up the semiconductor chip 11.When the semiconductor chip 11 is picked up, as illustrated in FIG. 2,the Y-drive mechanism 31 illustrated in FIG. 1 moves the transfer head32 above the wafer stage 21 on which the semiconductor chip 11 isplaced. The rotational drive mechanism 23 of the wafer holder unit 20causes the semiconductor wafer 10 to rotate along with the wafer stage21, and places the semiconductor chip 11 to be picked up under thetransfer head 32. The drive mechanism 34 moves the transfer tool 33 downto a position with a predetermined distance from the semiconductor chip11 to be picked up.

The transfer tool 33 can be configured to include a suctioning collet,for example. In the case of such an example, the suctioning collet isable to pick up the semiconductor chip 11 by suctioning thesemiconductor chip 11 plunged up by the plunge-up unit 22 of the waferstage 21 using vacuum or the like.

Further, the transfer tool 33 is configured to place the semiconductorchip 11. This will be described later in detail.

In this embodiment, the example in which the transfer unit 30 includesthe Y-drive mechanism 31, and the Y-drive mechanism 31 moves thetransfer head 32 in the Y-axis direction is described. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an example. The transfer unit30 include an XY-drive mechanism, for example, capable of moving thetransfer head 32 in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, sothat the transfer head 32 can be moved in the X-axis direction inaddition to the Y-axis direction.

The intermediate stage unit 40 illustrated in FIG. 1 is for temporarilyholding the semiconductor chip 11. The intermediate stage unit 40includes the intermediate stage 41 and an X-drive mechanism 42.

On the intermediate stage 41, the semiconductor chip 11 is placed by thetransfer tool 33. The intermediate stage 41 is configured to fixedlyhold the placed semiconductor chip 11 by vacuum-suctioning, for example.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view for illustration of the transfer unitand the intermediate stage unit. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the X-drivemechanism 42 is disposed under the intermediate stage 41. The X-drivemechanism 42 includes drive means such as a linear motor, and is capableof moving the intermediate stage 41 in the X-axis direction (firstdirection).

By the X-drive mechanism 42, the intermediate stage 41 is moved betweena first position P1 indicated by a solid line and a second position P2indicated by an alternate long and short dash line, as illustrated inFIG. 1. The first position P1 of the intermediate stage 41 is a positionat which the first bonding unit 50A is allowed to pick up thesemiconductor chip 11 placed on the intermediate stage 41, the secondposition P2 of the intermediate stage 41 is a position at which thesecond bonding unit 50B is allowed to pick up the semiconductor chip 11placed on the intermediate stage 41.

When the semiconductor chip 11 is placed on the intermediate stage 41,the X-drive mechanism 42 moves the intermediate stage 41 to the firstposition P1 shown in FIG. 1, for example. The Y-drive mechanism 31illustrated in FIG. 1 moves the transfer head 32 above the intermediatestage 41, as illustrated in FIG. 3. A drive mechanism 34 moves thetransfer tool 33 that has picked up the semiconductor chip 11 down to aposition with a predetermined distance from an upper surface of theintermediate stage 41. If the transfer tool 33 includes a suctioningcollet, it is possible to place the semiconductor chip 11 on theintermediate stage 41 by the suctioning collet releasing suctioning ofthe semiconductor chip 11.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the intermediate stage unit 40 isdisposed between the transfer unit 30 and the first and the secondbonding unit 50A and 50B, for example. With this, for example, thetransfer unit 30, the intermediate stage unit 40, and the first and thesecond bonding unit 50A and 50B can be arranged in the Y-axis directionas illustrated in FIG. 1, thus in a compact manner.

Each of the first bonding unit 50A and the second bonding unit 50Billustrated in FIG. 1 is for picking up the semiconductor chip 11 fromthe intermediate stage 41 and bonding the semiconductor chip 11 to acircuit substrate 15.

The first bonding unit 50A includes a Y-drive mechanism 51A, a bondinghead 52A, and a camera for chip 56A. Similarly, the second bonding unit50B includes a Y-drive mechanism 51B, a bonding head 52B, and a camerafor chip 56B.

It should be noted that the configuration of the second bonding unit 50Bis the same as the configuration of the first bonding unit 50A, andtherefore in the following, only the configuration of the first bondingunit 50A will be described, and a description of the configuration ofthe second bonding unit 50B shall be omitted as appropriate.

The Y-drive mechanism 51A includes drive means such as a linear motor,and is capable of moving the bonding head 52A in the Y-axis direction.

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view for illustration of the intermediatestage unit and the first bonding unit. As illustrated in FIG. 4, abonding tool 53A is attached to the bonding head 52A. In addition,within the bonding head 52A, there is provided a drive mechanism 54Acapable of moving the transfer tool 33 in the X-axis direction and inthe Z-axis direction, and a camera for substrate 55A capable of takingan image of the circuit substrate 15.

The bonding tool 53A is configured to pick up the semiconductor chip 11.When the semiconductor chip 11 is picked up, the X-drive mechanism 42moves the intermediate stage 41 to the first position P1 shown inFIG. 1. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the Y-drive mechanism 51A illustratedin FIG. 1 moves the bonding head 52A above the intermediate stage 41 onwhich the semiconductor chip 11 is placed. The drive mechanism 54A movesthe bonding tool 53A down to a position with a predetermined distancefrom the semiconductor chip 11 to be picked up.

The bonding tool 53A can be configured to include a vacuum hole forsuctioning, for example. In the case of such an example, thesemiconductor chip 11 can be picked up by the semiconductor chip 11being vacuum-suctioned through the vacuum hole.

Further, the bonding tool 53A is configured to perform bonding of thesemiconductor chip 11. This will be described later in detail.

The camera for chip 56A is for taking an image of the semiconductor chip11. The camera for chip 56A is disposed between the intermediate stageunit 40 and the substrate carrying unit 60, and configured to take animage of a back surface of the semiconductor chip 11 picked up by thebonding tool 53A from a lower side of the semiconductor chip 11 (in theZ-axis direction).

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the first bonding unit 50A and the secondbonding unit 50B are arranged side by side, for example, in the X-axisdirection (first direction). With this, the first bonding unit 50A andthe second bonding unit 50B can be arranged in a compact manner, and itis possible to suppress an increase of a space.

In this embodiment, the example in which the first bonding unit 50Aincludes the Y-drive mechanism 51A, and the Y-drive mechanism 51A movesthe bonding head 52A in the Y-axis direction is described. However, thepresent invention is not limited to such an example. The first bondingunit 50A include an XY-drive mechanism, for example, capable of movingthe bonding head 52A in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction,so that the bonding head 52A can be moved in the X-axis direction inaddition to the Y-axis direction. Similarly, it is also preferable thatthe second bonding unit 50B includes an XY-drive mechanism, so that thebonding head 52B can be moved in the X-axis direction in addition to theY-axis direction.

Further, in this embodiment, the example in which the first bonding unit50A includes the camera for chip 56A, and the second bonding unit 50Bincludes the camera for chip 56B is described. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such an example. For example, it ispreferable that the bonding apparatus 1 includes the camera for chip 56Aand the camera for chip 56B. Moreover, the bonding apparatus 1 is notlimited to the example in which the camera for chip 56A and the camerafor chip 56B are provided. For example, it is preferable that the camerafor chip 56A and the camera for chip 56B is configured as a singlecamera for chip, and the bonding apparatus 1 includes this single camerafor chip.

The substrate carrying unit 60 illustrated in FIG. 1 carries the circuitsubstrate 15. The substrate carrying unit 60 includes a substrate stage61 and a carrier rail 62.

To the substrate stage 61, the circuit substrate 15 is fed by substratefeed means that is not illustrated. The substrate stage 61 is configuredto fixedly hold the circuit substrate 15 by vacuum-suctioning, forexample.

The carrier rail 62 is configured to move the substrate stage 61 in apredetermined direction, for example, in the X-axis direction. Further,as illustrated in FIG. 1, the carrier rail 62 is able to move aplurality of substrate stages 61.

When bonding of the semiconductor chip 11 to the circuit substrate 15 isperformed, the carrier rail 62 moves the substrate stage 61 to aposition at which the bonding tool 53A illustrated in FIG. 4 is able toperform bonding. The Y-drive mechanism 51A moves the bonding head 52Aabove the substrate stage 61 on which the circuit substrate 15 isplaced. The drive mechanism 54A illustrated in FIG. 4 moves the bondingtool 53A downward. In the case in which the bonding tool 53A includes avacuum hole, it is possible to perform bonding of the semiconductor chip11 to the circuit substrate 15 by the drive mechanism 54A pressing thesemiconductor chip 11 suctioned through the vacuum hole against thecircuit substrate 15 at a predetermined load.

In this embodiment, the example in which the substrate carrying unit 60includes a single carrier rail 62 is described. However, the presentinvention is not limited to such an example. For example, it ispreferable that the substrate carrying unit 60 includes a plurality ofcarrier rails 62. In the case of such an example, the plurality of setsof carrier rails 62 are arranged in the Y-axis direction, and theY-drive mechanism 51A is configured to move the bonding head 52A abovethe substrate stage 61 that is moved by any of the plurality of carrierrails 62. Further, the Y-drive mechanism 51B is also configured to movethe bonding head 52B above the substrate stage 61 that is moved by anyof the plurality of carrier rails 62.

The controller 80 is connected to the wafer holder unit 20, the transferunit 30, the intermediate stage unit 40, the first bonding unit 50A andthe second bonding unit 50B, and the substrate carrying unit 60. Thecontroller 80 is configured to control operations of these componentsand thus to be able to perform necessary processes for bonding. Thecontroller 80 includes, for example, an interface (not shown) throughwhich transmission and reception of signals to and from the componentsdescribed above such as the wafer holder unit 20, the transfer unit 30,the intermediate stage unit 40, the first bonding unit 50A, the secondbonding unit 50B, and the substrate carrying unit 60. The controller 80records a previously determined schedule, and is configured to performcontrol relating to the bonding operation based on the schedule(program).

Further, the controller 80 is connected to an operation unit 82 throughwhich control information is input and a display unit 84 on which thecontrol information is output. With this, an operator is able to inputnecessary control information through the operation unit 82 whilelooking at a screen on the display unit 84. The controller 80 can beconfigured, for example, as a computer device having a CPU and a memory,and the memory records programs and data necessary for execution ofprocessing necessary for bonding.

Next, a method of bonding a semiconductor chip to a circuit substratewill be described with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing one example of the bonding methodaccording to this embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 5, upon starting ofa bonding process S10, the controller 80 first causes the Y-drivemechanism 31 to move the transfer head 32 to the wafer holder unit 20,and then the transfer tool 33 picks up the semiconductor chip 11 plungedup by the plunge-up unit 22 of the wafer stage 21 (S11).

With this, the controller 80 determines whether or not movement of theintermediate stage 41 is necessary based on the previously determinedschedule (S12).

As a result of the determination in S12, if the movement of theintermediate stage 41 is necessary, the controller 80 causes the X-drivemechanism 42 to move the intermediate stage 41 (S13). In contrast, ifthe movement of the intermediate stage 41 is not necessary, thecontroller 80 does not perform the step in S13.

Next, the controller 80 causes the Y-drive mechanism 31 to move thetransfer head 32 from the wafer holder unit 20 to the intermediate stageunit 40, and the semiconductor chip 11 picked up by the transfer tool 33is placed on the intermediate stage 41 (S14).

Specifically, for example, when the first position P1 of theintermediate stage 41 is a position at which the semiconductor chip 11can be placed on the intermediate stage 41 by the transfer tool 33, andif a current position of the intermediate stage 41 is the secondposition P2, the controller 80 moves the intermediate stage 41 from thesecond position P2 to the first position P1. However, if the currentposition of the intermediate stage 41 is the first position P1, thecontroller 80 does not move the intermediate stage 41, and leaves theintermediate stage 41 at the first position P1.

As in the example described above, it is preferable that one of thefirst position P1 and the second position P2 is a position of theintermediate stage 41 at which placement by the transfer tool 33 of thetransfer unit 30 is allowed. With this, in the placement of thesemiconductor chip 11 on the intermediate stage 41, the intermediatestage 41 is required to be moved only when the position of theintermediate stage 41 is the other of the first position P1 and thesecond position P2. Therefore, it is possible to reduce a number oftimes of the movement of the intermediate stage 41.

Next, the controller 80 determines whether or not movement of theintermediate stage 41 is necessary based on the previously determinedschedule (S15).

As a result of the determination in S15, if the movement of theintermediate stage 41 is necessary, the controller 80 causes the X-drivemechanism 42 to move the intermediate stage (S16). In contrast, if themovement of the intermediate stage 41 is not necessary, the controller80 does not perform the step in S15.

Next, based on the previously determined schedule, one of the firstbonding unit 50A and the second bonding unit 50B picks up thesemiconductor chip 11 placed on the intermediate stage 41 (S17).

Specifically, for example, when the semiconductor chip 11 placed on theintermediate stage 41 is to be picked up by the first bonding unit 50A,based on the determination in S15, the controller 80 does not move theintermediate stage 41, and leaves the intermediate stage 41 at the firstposition P1. Then, in Step S17, the controller 80 causes the Y-drivemechanism 51A of the first bonding unit 50A to move the bonding head 52Ato the intermediate stage unit 40, and the bonding tool 53A picks up thesemiconductor chip 11 placed on the intermediate stage 41.

In contrast, for example, when the semiconductor chip 11 placed on theintermediate stage 41 is to be picked up by the second bonding unit 50B,based on the determination in S15, the controller 80 moves theintermediate stage 41 from the first position P1 to the second positionP2 in the step in S16. Then, in Step S17, the controller 80 causes theY-drive mechanism 51B of the second bonding unit 50B to move the bondinghead 52B to the intermediate stage unit 40, and a bonding tool 53B picksup the semiconductor chip 11 placed on the intermediate stage 41.

It should be noted that as an operation of the second bonding unit 50Bis the same as an operation of the first bonding unit 50A, in thefollowing description, the operation in which the first bonding unit 50Apicks up the semiconductor chip 11 in the step in S17 will be described,and a description of the operation of the second bonding unit 50B shallbe omitted as appropriate.

Next, the controller 80 performs preprocessing for bonding (S18). In thepreprocessing for bonding, for example, the controller 80 performs backsurface recognition processing of causing the Y-drive mechanism 51A tomove the bonding head 52A to a position of the camera for chip 56A,causing the camera for chip 56A to recognize a back surface of thesemiconductor chip 11 picked up by the bonding tool 53A to detect aposition of the back surface, and correcting a position, a posture, andthe like of the semiconductor chip 11 based on a result of thedetection. In the case of such an example, before the bonding tool 53Apicks up the semiconductor chip 11, the controller 80 performs substraterecognition processing of causing the Y-drive mechanism 51A moves thecamera for substrate 55A of the bonding head 52A to a position of thesubstrate stage 61, and causing the camera for substrate 55A torecognize the circuit substrate 15 and a lead frame (not shown) on thesubstrate stage 61 to detect their positions.

Next, the controller 80 causes the Y-drive mechanism 51A to move thebonding tool 53A of the bonding head 52A to the position of thesubstrate stage 61, and the bonding tool 53A performs bonding of thepicked-up semiconductor chip 11 to the circuit substrate 15 placed onthe substrate stage 61 (S19).

Next, the controller 80 performs postprocessing for bonding (S20). Inthe postprocessing for bonding, for example, the controller 80 performspost-bonding processing of causing the Y-drive mechanism 51A to move thecamera for substrate 55A of the bonding head 52A to the position of thesubstrate stage 61, and causing the camera for substrate 55A torecognize the semiconductor chip 11 bonded to the circuit substrate 15to detect a position of the semiconductor chip 11.

After the postprocessing for bonding in S20, the controller 80terminates the bonding process S10.

It should be noted that when bonding of a plurality of semiconductorchips 11 is performed to a single circuit substrate 15 by stacking orthe like, the controller 80 repeats the steps from S11 to S20 untilbonding of a predetermined number of semiconductor chips 11 isperformed, and terminates the bonding process S10 upon completion of thebonding of the predetermined number of semiconductor chips 11.

The controller 80 performs a processing cycle (unit processing cycle) ofthe bonding process S10 to the single circuit substrate 15, and performsthe bonding process S10 to each of the plurality of circuit substrates15.

Here, the inventors of the present invention have found that a timeperiod during which the transfer unit 30 and the intermediate stage unit40 do not operate is long in the processing time of the bonding processS10. It is considered one reason of this is that as the operations ofthe first bonding unit 50A and the second bonding unit 50B, inparticular, bonding in the step in S19, take remarkably long time ascompared to the operations of the transfer unit 30 and the intermediatestage unit 40, the transfer unit 30 and the intermediate stage unit 40need to wait for end of the operations of the first bonding unit 50A andthe second bonding unit 50B.

The inventors of the present invention have also found that the transferunit 30 and the intermediate stage unit 40, in particular, the transferunit 30, are considerably large in size, and the transfer unit 30 takesa large part in the space for the bonding apparatus 1.

As a result, the inventors of the present invention have arrived at anidea of moving the intermediate stage 41 between the first position P1at which the first bonding unit 50A is allowed to pick up thesemiconductor chip 11 and the second position P2 at which the secondbonding unit 50B is allowed to pick up the semiconductor chip 11. Withthis, as the intermediate stage 41 is able to pass (feed) thesemiconductor chip 11 placed by the transfer unit 30 to both the firstbonding unit 50A and the second bonding unit 50B, it is not necessary,unlike the first bonding unit 50A and the second bonding unit 50B, toprovide two transfer units 30 and two intermediate stages 41, and onlyone transfer unit 30 and only one intermediate stage 41 are sufficient.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for illustration of one example of the processingtime in the bonding method according to this embodiment. In FIG. 6, itis assumed that at the start of the operation, the intermediate stage 41is at the first position P1, and the semiconductor chip 11 is alreadyplaced on the intermediate stage 41. Further, in FIG. 6, a lateral axisindicate time, and processing time of each of the transfer unit 30, theintermediate stage unit 40, the first bonding unit 50A, and the secondbonding unit 50B in each step of the bonding process S10 shown in FIG. 5is represented by a length of a corresponding rectangular (square)block. As illustrated in FIG. 6, in the bonding process S10 shown inFIG. 5, processing time T1 in which bonding is performed using the firstbonding unit 50A is 3600 [ms]. Out of the processing time T1, processingtime T30 for processing relating to the first bonding unit 50A is 2200[ms], and processing time T33 for processing relating to bonding in StepS19 is 1000 [ms]. In contrast, processing time T2 in which bonding isperformed using the second bonding unit 50B is 3600 [ms], and out of theprocessing time T2, processing time T40 for processing relating to thesecond bonding unit 50B is 2200 [ms], and processing time T43 forprocessing relating to bonding in Step S19 is 1000 [ms]. As describedabove, it is clear that the processing time T30 for processing relatingto the first bonding unit 50A and the processing time T40 for processingrelating to the second bonding unit 50B respectively take more than ahalf of the processing time T1 and T2 in the bonding process S10, andthe processing time T33 for processing relating to bonding in Step S19and the processing time T43 for processing relating to bonding in StepS19 respectively take more than a quarter of the processing time T1 andT2 in the bonding process S10.

Therefore, by providing the first bonding unit 50A and the secondbonding unit 50B that pick up the semiconductor chip 11 from theintermediate stage 41 and bond the semiconductor chip to the circuitsubstrate 15, it is possible to allow the first bonding unit 50A and thesecond bonding unit 50B to concurrently perform bonding to differentcircuit substrates 15, respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 6.

It should be noted that FIG. 6 shows that at 2100 [ms] and 4300 [ms],the placement by the transfer unit 30 in Step S14 is completed beforethe movement of the intermediate stage 41 in Step S13 is completed.However, in practice, the placement by the transfer unit 30 in Step S14is completed only after the movement of the intermediate stage 41 inStep S13 is completed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by providing the firstbonding unit 50A and the second bonding unit 50B that pick up thesemiconductor chip 11 from the intermediate stage 41 and bond thesemiconductor chip to the circuit substrate 15, it is possible to allowthe first bonding unit 50A and the second bonding unit 50B toconcurrently perform bonding to different circuit substrates 15,respectively, as illustrated in FIG. 6. Therefore, as compared to a casein which only one bonding unit is provided, it is possible to reduceprocessing time for each of the circuit substrates 15. Further, bymoving the intermediate stage 41 between the first position P1 at whichthe first bonding unit 50A is allowed to pick up the semiconductor chip11 and the second position P2 at which the second bonding unit 50B isallowed to pick up the semiconductor chip 11, the intermediate stage 41is able to pass (feed) the semiconductor chip 11 placed by the transferunit 30 to both the first bonding unit 50A and the second bonding unit50B. Therefore, it is not necessary, unlike the first bonding unit 50Aand the second bonding unit 50B, to provide two transfer units 30 andtwo intermediate stages 41, and only one transfer unit 30 and only oneintermediate stage 41 are sufficient. Thus, it is possible to suppressan increase of the space for the transfer unit 30 and the intermediatestage 41, to reduce a number of the components for the bonding apparatus1, and thus to reduce manufacturing costs.

It should be understood that the present invention can be applied withvarious modifications without being limited to the above embodiment.

Further, the practical examples and application examples described bymeans of the embodiment of the present invention can be used incombinations, or with alterations or improvements as appropriatedepending on the intended use, and the present invention is not limitedto the above description of the embodiment. It is clear from theappended claims that aspects in such combinations, or with suchalterations or improvements can also be included in the technical scopeof the present invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A bonding apparatus comprising: anintermediate stage; a transfer unit configured to transfer asemiconductor chip from a wafer stage and to place the semiconductorchip on the intermediate stage; a first bonding unit and a secondbonding unit each configured to pick up the semiconductor chip from theintermediate stage, and to bond the semiconductor chip to a circuitsubstrate, wherein the first bonding unit and the second bonding unitare arranged side by side along a first direction parallel to X-axis,and the wafer stage, the transfer unit, and the first bonding unit arearranged along a second direction parallel to Y-axis and perpendicularto the first direction; and a linear motor disposed under theintermediate stage, wherein the linear motor extends from a firstposition to a second position to drive the intermediate stage to movebetween the first position and the second position only along the firstdirection, the first position being a position at which the firstbonding unit is allowed to pick up the semiconductor chip, the secondposition being a position at which the second bonding unit is allowed topick up the semiconductor chip.
 2. The bonding apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein one of the first position and the second position is aposition at which the transfer unit is allowed to place thesemiconductor chip on the intermediate stage.
 3. The bonding apparatusaccording to claim 1, wherein the intermediate stage is disposed betweenthe transfer unit and the first and the second bonding unit.
 4. Thebonding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a camera forchip configured to take an image of the semiconductor chip.
 5. Thebonding apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the intermediate stageis disposed between the transfer unit and the first and the secondbonding unit.